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Coronavirus has divided the island of Ireland more definitely than the British managed!

I have a big moan but before I get into it permit me to tell you that most official documents refer to Ireland as an island of 84,421 square kilometres in the North Atlantic and Great Britain lies to its east.

It is the second largest island of the British Isles, the third largest in Europe and the 20 largest on earth.

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So why, then, in one part of the island are hundreds of dead people and thousands of ill, forgotten almost every day when the latest coronavirus statistics are made public?

The latest virus figures available as I write this piece show that 2,022 died from Covid-19 in Ireland and 28,469 were taken ill. By the time you read this the details may have changed slightly, but you get the gist of what I’m saying.

Now, with due respect to newspaper and other media outlets, the first most people hear of the latest virus figures is when their alarm radio wakens them and they listen to RTE.

This morning they would have been told 1,546 people died from coronavirus and 24,112 were taken ill.